The Minnesota legislature is considering a statewide carbon tax of $50 per ton on all fuels and electricity consumed in the state, according to the 8 March 1996

Global Environmental Change Report. The law, which is given little chance of passage this year, would tax nuclear-generated electricity but exempt renewable energy sources. The... Read more

by Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees. New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, British Columbia and Philadelphia, 1996. 160 pages; hardcover $39.95, paperback $14.95.

In spite of tight construction budgets, the Raleigh, North Carolina-based architecture firm Innovative Design, Inc. has convinced several regional school districts to incorporate roof monitors for... Read more

Manufacturers argue that, properly installed and operated, these heaters pose no threat, but the many warnings and cautions in the installation manuals suggest that... Read more

Energy consumption in the U.S. during 1995 totaled 87.2 quads or quadrillion Btu (92 x 1018 J), according to the March 1996

Monthly Energy Review, published by the DOE Energy Information Administration. This record level represents an increase of 1.8% over 1994 consumption.

Miraflex®, the new binderless fiberglass from Owens Corning Fiberglas (OCF), has done so well since its introduction that the company has been unable to keep up with demand and was forced late last year to curtail its distribution (see

EBN

Vol. 4, No. 1). The product should again be available nationally on May 1st. OCF plans to... Read more

Expanding on its four-year-old carpet testing program (see

EBN

Vol. 3, No. 6), the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) has launched a similar program to test emissions from carpet adhesives. Initiated on March 31, 1996, the new program will test samples of participating product lines quarterly. Products that meet program guidelines... Read more

The eco-shake™ shingles have heavily textured wood grain to mimic the look of wood shakes. They are 22 inches (250 mm) in length, packaged in random widths of 5, 7, and 12... Read more

Are our buildings making us sick? Yes, say an increasing number of indoor air quality specialists in government agencies, academia, and the emerging industry working to solve these problems. By some estimates, direct medical costs associated with IAQ problems in the United States are as high as $15 billion per year, with indirect costs of $60... Read more

40 pages; $8.00 postpaid from the Center for Resourceful Building Technology, P.O. Box 100, Missoula, MT 59806; 406/549-7678.

In a move that would appear to reinforce the National Association of Home Builders’ anti-environmental policies, the Association’s Committee on Energy was voted out of existence at the January 29 Board of Directors’ meeting. Ironically, the decision was made just a day after the First Annual Energy Value Housing Awards were presented, with the... Read more

A group of evangelical Christians is urging support of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), according to a January 31 article in

The New York Times. Dr. Calvin DeWitt, who helped found the Evangelical Environmental Network, said in the article that the Endangered Species Act is “the Noah’s Ark of our day” and that “Congress and special... Read more

Motorists in Germany can now save on their auto insurance rates if they use public transportation. As reported in the February 23rd issue of

Global Environmental Change Report the German insurance company Rheinland (Neuss) has begun offering a 10% discount for policyowners who hold annual passes for the national railway system or for a... Read more

Builders and designers committed to energy- and resource-efficient construction strategies have long struggled with building codes that mandate conventional practice, even when alternatives might be more sensible. A new addition to the Lake County, Illinois building code offers one solution to this problem—in a complete, take-it-or-leave-it... Read more

Joseph Demkin, editor. The American Institute of Architects. Published annually by John Wiley & Sons, 1996. Three-ring-bound. $150 + $2.50 for handling. Call 800/225-5945 to order.

Environmental Resource Guide (ERG) uses an effective combination of text and graphics to convey the environmental implications of building... Read more

Willammette Industries, Inc. has just retooled a particleboard mill in Eugene, Oregon to produce a higher-quality medium-density fiberboard (MDF) using at least 50% recycled wood. The mill will use wood waste from construction sites, pallets, and packing crates.

Thank you for the review you gave WWPA’s

Eco-Profile of Lumber Produced in the Western United States: Life Cycle Inventory of WWPA Western Lumber. Your comments on the study were both thorough and fair.

100 pages; $5.00 covers postage & handling. Available from the American Forest & Paper Association, 1111 19th Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20036.

Wood and paper recycling could be used to achieve 10-20% of the U.S. carbon reduction goal, according to scientists at the USDA Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin. Recycling wood and paper reduces net carbon emissions by reducing timber harvesting, which in turn increases the amount of carbon sequestered by living trees, and by... Read more